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Lockheed Martin issues layoff notices to 80 employees in Salina

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Lockheed Martin Corp. said today that it will lay off about 80 employees at its plant at Electronics Park in Salina, part of a larger nationwide cutback of 600 people in its Mission Systems and Training division.
(Dick Blume | dblume@syracuse.com)

WASHINGTON -- Lockheed Martin Corp. said today that it will lay off 80 employees at its plant at Electronics Park in Salina, part of a larger nationwide cutback of 587 people in its Mission Systems and Training division.

Employees were notified of the layoffs this morning, Lockheed officials said. Most of the layoffs will be effective in two weeks. The affected employees will be offered undisclosed severance benefits and outplacement services.

Lockheed Martin is Onondaga County's largest for-profit employer, with about 1,700 employees in Salina before today's announcement.

The company signed a 30-year incentive deal with New York state in 1996 that requires it to employ at least 1,500 people at the Electronics Park plant. In return, Lockheed was given a series of economic incentives, including a 30-year lease on their state-owned property for $1.

Lockheed announced plans for the layoffs Oct. 16. The company said the cutbacks are "necessary to address continuing challenges in our business environment, including continued uncertain program funding, delays in contract awards and an extremely competitive market."

All of the nearly 600 layoffs announced today are in Lockheed's Mission Systems and Training division, which has 16,000 employees at more than 100 sites including Salina and Owego, near Binghamton. The company gave layoff notices today to 65 employees in Owego.

Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Md., in suburban Washington, D.C., is the nation's largest defense contractor. In October, the company reported its third-quarter profit increased 16 percent to $842 million, despite a 4 percent decline in sales. The company also raised its forecast for full-year earnings.

Last year, Lockheed Martin generated $47.2 billion in sales, and had profits of more than $2.7 billion.